A PHOTOGRAPHIC REFLECTOR

Abstract: A photographic reflector is provided either to convert a forward-illuminating flash unit into one which will produce reflected flashlight or for use directly with a bounce-head flash unit. The reflector comprises an internally reflective hood (20) with an attachment means (17) to enable it to be secured to the flash unit (24). In the former case, a mirror (21) is provided which is angled between 30 DEG and 60 DEG inclusive with respect to a forward facing light-emitting surface of the flash unit (24) when the reflector is secured thereto. In this way, flashlight is directed upwardly by the mirror (21) into the internally reflective hood (20) thereby to produce reflected flash light for illumination of a photographic subject.

Description: A PHOTOGRAPHIC REFLECTOR The present invention relates to a photographic reflector and in particular to a reflector which can be used with a forward-illuminating flash-unit to reproduce the effect of a bounce-head flash unit to produce indirect light. Reflected or bounced flashlight is often used in photography to produce various effects and to eliminate certain undesirable features of direct flash photography such as red eye and deep silhouette shadows cast behind the subject. It is achieved by the use of a bounce-head flash unit which emits flashlight upwardly for reflection on to the subject either by the ceiling of a room or by a reflector. Conventional reflectors used for this purpose comprise either reflective photographic umbrellas which must be supported in an appropriate relationship to the flash unit or a box-like attachment which is attached to the flash unit itself. A reflector of the first type is shown and described in U.S. Patent 4,524,405 and comprises a fabric- covered, fan-shaped reflector which can be supported by a conventional telescoping light stand. In contrast, a reflector of the second type is described in U.S. Patent 4,539,624 and comprises a box-like device which fits, via an adaptor, over the top of the flash unit. A slot is provided in the top of the device in which a tongue of a plate-like reflector may be fitted to hold the reflector at an appropriate angle above the flash gun. Both of these types of reflector have disadvantages. The umbrella reflectors are bulky and require a separate support thus making them difficult to transport and unsuitable for use outside a studio. In contrast, whilst the box type of reflector is more suitable for outdoor work and for use by amateur photographers, they are still difficult to transport easily in a photographic bag without damage. In addition, when special effects are required, appropriately coloured foils to provide the reflective surface must be attached to the reflector or the box; these foils are easily lost or torn. It will also be appreciated that most amateur cameras are compact cameras wherein a forward-illuminating flash unit is in-built with the camera to form a single unit. Thus, the advantages of using reflected flashlight are denied to the photographer when using such a camera. A first object of the present invention is to provide a photographic reflector which can be used to convert a forward-illuminating flash unit into one which will produce reflected flashlight to enable, for example, amateur photographers and those without specialist equipment to obtain the advantages afforded by reflected flashlight. Thus, according to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a photographic reflector for a forward-illuminating flash unit to convert same into one which will produce reflected flashlight, comprising attachment means to enable it to be secured to the flash unit, and characterised in that it comprises an internally reflective hood, and a mirror which is angled between 30° and 60" inclusive with respect to a forward facing light- emitting surface of the flash unit when the reflector is secured thereto so as to direct flashlight upwardly into the internally reflective hood thereby to produce reflected flash light for illumination of a photographic subject. However, it will be appreciated that the internally reflective hood forming a part of the first aspect of the present invention can be used alone as a reflector for a bounce-head flash unit. It is therefore, a second object of the present invention to provide a photographic reflector which overcomes or substantially mitigates the aforementioned problems of conventional bounce-head flash reflectors to provide a reflector which is comparatively inexpensive and easy to manufacture, transport and use. Thus, according to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a photographic reflector for a bounce-head flash unit comprising an internally reflective hood and means to enable it to be secured to the flash unit, and characterised in that the hood comprises a one- piece blank which is integrally provided with a reflective surface on at least a first portion of one side thereof and which is creased to enable it to be folded to form the hood with said reflective surface angled between 30" and 60* inclusive with respect to an upper light-emitting surface of the flash unit when secured thereto thereby to produce reflected flash light for illumination of a photographic subject. Preferably, in both the first and the second aspects of the invention the hood is shaped so that it provides a first reflective surface angled at 45* with respect to the upper surface of the flash unit when secured thereto. Preferably also, the reflector is made from card coated with a polyester film. Preferably also, the card is coated with a gold or silver coloured metallized polyester film. The various aspects of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Fig. 1 shows a blank from which a reflector according to the second of the invention can be folded; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the reflector shown in Fig. 1 when folded into a reflective hood; and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the reflector shown in Fig. 1 when folded and attached to a bounce-head flash unit; Fig. 4 shows a blank from which a reflector according to the first aspect of the invention can be folded; and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the reflector shown in Fig. 4 when folded and attached to a flash unit of a compact camera. A reflector according both aspects of the invention is preferably manufactured from stiff card of approximately ' 450 microns thickness which is provided with a light reflecting surface on at least one side. However, a thin plastics sheet could also be used. Figs. 1 to 3 show a reflector for use with a bounce- head flash unit. As shown in Fig. 1, a blank 1 for the reflector comprises a rectangular piece of the card with rounded corners. Typically, the blank 1 will have overall dimensions of the order 225 x 175 mm but may be increased in size for fitment to certain professional size flash units. Along one of the shorter sides 2 of the blank a pair of parallel slots 3 are cut, the length of which slots is of the order of 35 mm and they are located approximately 70 mm apart centrally of the side 2. From each of the closed straight line 5 up to the adjacent corner on the opposite short side 6 of the blank 1. This defines two substantially triangular flaps 7 at each side of the blank 1. Parallel with the sides 2 and 6 of the blank and perpendicular to the slots 3 is another crease 8 which is located approximately 70mm from the side 2. At each of the intersections 9 of this crease 8 with the creases 5 a further pair of creases 10 and 11 are formed which radiate out from intersection 8 to the longer sides 12 of the blank at equal angles of approximately 30* to the crease 8. At each end of the crease 8, the creases 10 and 11 define two adjacent triangular areas 13 which are located on opposite sides of the crease 8 from one another. In addition, a large trapezoidal area 14 is defined by the creases 5 and 8 and the shorter side 6 of the blank 1. If, when considering Figure 1, one assumes that the reflective surface of the blank is that facing the viewer, then the creases 5 are made so that the flaps 7 can be folded upwards towards the viewer out of the plane of the paper. The crease 8 is folded in the same way as the creases 5 but the creases 10 and 11 are folded in the opposite direction. Prior to use, the blank 1 is folded to make a reflector by pinching together the respective triangular areas 13 at each end of the crease 8. This forces the blank 1 to bend along the crease 8 and along the creases 5 to form a hood 15 as shown in Figure 2. In order to retain the hood-like shape, the areas 13 can be either be secured permanently together by, for example, adhesive or staples, or be secured releasably by, for example, poppers, clips, or pads 16, as shown in Fig. 1, made from impact hooked- pile thread fastener such as is sold under the trade mark Velcro. Pads 17a, 17b, 17c also made from the same impact hooked-pile thread fastener as the pads 16 are provided for securing the hood 15 around the back side of a bounce-head flash unit 18. The pads 17a, 17b, 17c are located at each side of and between the slots 3 respectively as indicated in Fig. 1 and corresponding complimentary pads (not shown) must be secured to the sides and back of flash unit 18. When attached to the flash unit 18, as shown in Fig. 3, the hood 15 projects over the top of the unit 18 so that light emanating therefrom is reflected forwards on to the subject. It will be appreciated that the major reflective areas of the hood 15 essentially comprise the area 14 and the side flaps 7. In order to ensure the majority of the flash light is reflected on to the subject, the blank 1 is creased and slotted in such a way as to ensure that when folded the area 14 lies at an angle of between 30° and 60 β inclusive with respect to the upper light-emitting surface of the flash unit 18. Preferably and as would occur with the dimensions for the blank given in this example, the area 14 lies at an angle of 45" to the upper surface of the unit 18. After use, the hood 15 can be simply removed from the flash unit 18 and returned back to a flat state for ease of packing away and transportation by being folded along the crease 8. In a modification, the slots 3 and the pad 17b can be omitted and the hood simply folded around the flash unit 18. In this case, the slots 3 can be replaced by additional crease lines and the crease lines 5 extended to end close to the shorter side 2 of the blank 1. Normally three reflector colours are employed for bounce-flash photography. A white reflecting surface gives a soft diffused light. In contrast a silver surface gives a bright diffused light which eliminates the problems of red eye and unwanted shadows in portrait photography. Gold reflectors are also used for portrait photography as they give a warm light for flattering flesh tones 5. A white reflector can be provided by simply coating a suitable white card from which the blank is to be cut with a clear varnish but preferably the card is coated with a clear polyester film. In order to provide a silver or gold coloured reflecting surface, the card from which the blank is cut is preferably appropriately metallized on one side with a polyester film. Alternatively, the card is bonded to either an aluminium foil or gold leaf. The reverse side of the card is preferably coloured black and also either coated with clear polyester film or varnished. The use of polyester films is preferable to both the use of clear varnish and the use of actual metal foils as it is significantly cheaper in the latter case and in all cases resists fingerprints which spoil the reflective surface and are difficult to remove once made. In addition, the polyester film strengthens the card making it difficult to tear and also repel rain water. Apart from plain coloured reflective surfaces, the invention also enables special effects to be created in known manner by the use of appropriately adapted reflective surfaces such as the printing of a holographic pattern on the blank or the embossing of the reflective surface with a bubble pattern. The use of such a reflector may also obviate the need to use a lens filter for the camera for certain effects. Turning now to Figs. 4 and 5, it has been found that the advantages of using bounced flashlight can be achieved with a conventional forward-illuminating flash unit such as is found in most compact cameras using a reflector similar to that previously described but with the addition of a mirror. A blank 20 for such a reflector is shown in Fig. 4 and it will be appreciated that it is substantially similar to the blank 1 shown in Fig. 1. Accordingly, the similar features will not be described again and are labelled with the same reference numerals as those previously described. The major difference comprises the provision of a flap 21 adjacent an area 22 which forms the lower portion of one of the triangular areas 7 below the crease 8. The flap 21 is attached to the area 22 by a crease line 23 so that when the blank is folded to make the reflective hood the flap 21 can be folded in opposition to the reflective area 14 and lie substantially parallel thereto. Thus, in use with the reflector attached to a conventional forward-illuminating flash unit 24 of a compact camera 25, as shown in Fig. 5, the hood projects over the top of the unit 24 and the flap 21 is angled between 30" and 60° inclusive directly in front of the light-emitting surface of the unit 24 to comprise a second reflective surface. In this way the reflective surface of the flap 21 forms a mirror to direct flashlight upwardly primarily on to the area 14 and the flaps 7 thereby to produce reflected flashlight for illumination of a photographic subject. Preferably as with the previously described reflector, the dimensions of the blank 20 are such that the flap 21 is angled at 45 β to the front surface of the flash unit 24 and the area 14 lies parallel to the flap 21 at an angle of 45" to the upper surface of the unit 24. Other minor differences between the blank 20 and the blank 1 relate to the way in which the reflector is folded so as to be attached to the flash unit 24. As the flash unit 24 is likely to form part of a compact camera 25, an area 26 is cut-away at the lower shorter side 2 adjacent the left slot 3 with respect to Fig. 4 so as not to cover a viewfinder of the camera 25. In order to enable the reflector to be easily fitted to one side of the camera 25, a fourth pad 17d is attached to the lower portion of flap 21. In addition, the pads 17a and 17d are attached below additional crease lines 27 and 28 respectively which enable the pads 17a and 17d to be secured to the top 29 and front surface 30 of the camera 25 to one side of the flash unit 24 and immediately therebeneath respectively. The other pads 17b and 17c are attached to one side of the viewfinder and at the top of the side of the camera respectively as shown in Fig. 5. As with the reflector previously described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3, complementary pads are attached to the top, back, side and front of the camera 25. As before, the reflector can be attached and detached from the camera 25 as desired and, when not is use be folded flat along the crease line 8. As previously described, in a modification the slots 3 can be omitted and, as a result, either the pad 17b or the pad 17c can be dispensed with. In this case, the crease lines 5 can be extended across the whole blank from the side 6 to the side 2. Whilst in the above description and in the drawings it has been assumed that the camera 25 comprises a flash unit 24 to the left of the camera lens with respect to the photographer, it will be appreciated that a mirror image of the blank 20 could be provided for cameras with a flash unit located to the right of the lens. It will also be appreciated that a reflector folded from a blank 20 can be used with a separate or stand alone forward-illuminating flash unit with corresponding minor changes to the placement of the fixing pads 17 and the shape of that portion of the blank 20 to which these are attached. As previously described, various reflector colours can be provided on the inner surface of the hood. However, as the flap 21 is intended to act as a mirror, it may be desirable that this portion of the blank 20 has a surface which is configured and coloured differently from the rest of the blank 20 and in particular differently from the main reflecting areas 7 and 14. If it is desired to ensure a substantially full spectrum of light is reflected on to the areas 7 and 14, then the flap 21 is better coloured white or silver but if special effects are required then flap 21 can be coloured and configured differently from the rest of the blank. It will also be appreciated that the reflector according to the first aspect of the invention need not be made from a one-piece blank as described above with reference to Figs. 4 and 5. For example, the flap 21 comprising the mirror need not be formed integrally with the rest of the blank and could be detachably secured thereto by any convenient means such as pads similar to those used to secure the reflector to the camera. Alternatively, the mirror could comprise an independent unit and be attached to the camera separately from the reflecting hood 20. More fundamentally, the internally reflecting hood of the first aspect of the invention need not be made from a one-piece blank and could be preformed by moulding or fabrication from any suitable material although in this case some of advantages of using such a hood as described above would not then be provided. The reflectors as described above, however, are inexpensive to produce, easy to use, and can be packed flat for transportation both before and after use. They are, therefore, suitable for use by both professional and amateur phtographers alike.

Claims: AMENDED CLAIMS [received by the International Bureau on 09 January 1995 (09.01.95); original claims 1,2 and 7 amended; remaining claims unchanged (4 pages)] 1. A photographic reflector for a forward-illuminating flash unit to convert same into one which will produce reflected flashlight, comprising attachment means (17) to enable it to be secured to the flash unit (24), an internally reflective hood (20), and a mirror (21) which is angled between 30° and 60* inclusive with respect to a forward facing light-emitting surface of the flash unit (24) when secured thereto so as to direct flashlight upwardly into the internally reflective hood (20) thereby to produce reflected flash light for illumination of a photographic subject, and characterised in that the internally reflective hood is folded from a creased one- piece blank (20) . 2. A reflector as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that the one-piece blank (20) is integrally provided with a first reflective surface on at least a first portion (14) of one side thereof. 3. A reflector as claimed in Claim 2, characterised in that the mirror comprises a second reflective surface (21) integrally provided on a second portion of the blank (20), which can be folded so that the second reflective surface lies facing the first reflective surface. 4. A reflector* as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, characterised in that when the hood is attached to the flash unit (24) the first reflective surface (14) is angled between 30' and 60 β inclusive with respect to an upper surface of the flash unit (24) . 5. A reflector as claimed in Claim 4, characterised in that the first reflective surface (14) is angled substantially at 45 β with respect to the upper surface of the flash unit (24) when secured thereto and the mirror (21) is angled substantially at 45" with respect to the forward facing light-emitting surface of the flash unit (24). 6. A photographic reflector for a bounce-head flash unit comprising an internally reflective hood (15) and means (17) to enable it to be secured to the flash unit (18), and characterised in that the hood (15) comprises a one-piece blank (1) which is integrally provided with a reflective surface on at least a first portion (14) of one side thereof and which is creased (5, 10,11) to enable it to be folded to form the hood (15) with said reflective surface angled between 30 β and 60" inclusive with respect to an upper light-emitting surface of the flash unit (18) when secured thereto thereby to produce reflected flash light for illumination of a photographic subject. 7. A reflector as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the one-piece blank (1,20) is substantially rectangular and is creased along first and second straight lines (5) substantially from a position close to or at one of the blank's shorter sides (2) to the corners of the blank's second short side (6) respectively to define two substantially triangular and separate flaps (7), one at each side of the blank (1,20) respectively, and an area comprising said first reflective surface (14) therebetween. 8. A reflector as claimed in Claim 7, characterised in that the blank (1,20) defines a pair of " spaced parallel slots (3) which extend from said one shorter side (2) at right angles thereto and from the closed ends (4) of which the first and second crease lines (5) extend respectively to the corners of the blank's second short side (6). 9. A reflector as claimed in Claim 7 or Claim 8, characterised in that the blank (1,20) is creased transversely along a third straight line (8) parallel to said one short side (2) and closer to said one shorter side (2) than said second short side (6) , and at each of the intersections (9) of this third crease (8) with the first and second creases (5) fourth pairs of creases (10,11) are formed which each radiate out from the intersection (9) towards the adjacent longer side (12) of the blank at equal angles of substantially 30° to the third crease (8) to define two triangular areas (13) at each side of the third crease (8) . 10. A reflector as claimed in Claim 9, characterised in that when the respective triangular areas (13) at each end of the third crease (8) are pinched together the blank (1,20) bends along the first, second and third creases (5,8) to form the hood. 11. A reflector as claimed in Claim 10, characterised in that means (16) are provided to retain said triangular areas (13) in contact with one another in order to retain the hood-like shape in use when secured to the flash unit but which enable the blank (1,20) to be folded along the third crease (8) to lie flat when detached from the flash unit. 12. A reflector as claimed in any one of Claims 7 to 11, characterised in that the second reflective surface is formed on a projecting flap (21) which can be folded to lie facing the area (14) comprising the first reflective surface. 13. A reflector as claimed in any .one of Claims 1 to 12, characterised in that the first and second reflective surfaces (14,-21) are coated with a polyester film. AMENDED SHEET ARTICLE19J 14. A reflector as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 13, characterised in that the reflective surfaces (14,21) are coated with a gold or silver coloured metallized polyester film.

Inventors: KEAN BRENDA, KEAN, BRENDA
Applicants: KEAN BRENDA, KEAN, BRENDA
Application year: 1994
Main classification: G03B15
IPC codes: G03B15